Adjustable chair



y 1952 e. H. GAMBRILL 2,603,273

ADJUSTABLE CHAIR Filed May 7, 1948 lNl ENTOR By G. H. GAMER/LL WWW- 7% A T TORNE Y i atented July 15, 1952 UNITED STATES rarest or ies I i v 2,603,273 ADJUSTABLE CHAIR Gordon H, Gambrill, Baltimore, Md. Application May 7, 1948, Serial N '0. 25,639

4 Claims.

' This invention relates to anarticle of furniture and more particularly to an improved adjustable chair suitable as an article of manufacture.

For increased comfort it is most desirable that the occupant of an adjustable chair be able to adjust the angular position of the back and seat at frequent intervals without the necessity of leavingthe chair. This is especially desirable in the use of chairs of the adjustable reclining type so popular as a lawn or porch chair, although the feature is also very desirable in reclining chairs for use inside the home and in lounges.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide an adjustable reclining chair capable of adjustment by the occupant while still occupying the chair in the sitting position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an adjustable reclining chair in which the occupant may adjust the angular position of the back and seat while occupying the chair and with a minimum of physical effort. 7

A still further object is to provide a chair structure in which the weight of the occupant is sub-, stantially balanced so that with a very slight ef'; fort on the part of the occupant, the angular position of the back and seat may be altered at will.

The foregoing objects are achieved by this invention which provides, in combination, a sup porting frame upon which the back of the chair, is pivotally supported directly on a fulcrum intermediate the upper and lower ends of said back, the seat being supported on its rear edge by a hinge joint attached to the lower edge of the back and at a point intermediate its front and rear edges by the frame. An adjustable latching mechanism is combined with an arm rest which is pivotally attached to the back at a point above the fulcrum and is adiustably latched to the frame at a plurality of positions along its length to fix the chair in a plurality of angular positions at the will of the occupant. I

' The invention may be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which:

"Figure. 1 is a side elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the invention as applied to a. lawn or porch chair;

Figure 2 is afragmentary and slightly enlarged view of Fig. 1 showing in greater detail the features of the adjusting mechanism for simultaneously adjusting the angular positions ofthe back and seat;

Figure 31s a front elevation view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 but with the leg rest and. strut folded under the seat as shown in. Fig. 2

Figure 4 is another fragmentary view of Fig. 1 but viewed from the rear and enlarged to show in greater detail the preferred mechanism for adjusting the angular position of the seat in'-' dependent of the back; and

Figure 5 discloses in elementary, schematic form the back and seat adjusted to their horizontal positions,

Referring now more particularly to Fig, l,fthe elevation View shows the chair with a backl, a seat 2, a frame comprising a rear leg 3, a. front leg 1 and'lower cross brace 5, an arm rest 6, a leg rest I and a strut 8, these partsv comprising the principal parts of the improved chair of this invention. It is to be understood, of course, that the parts of the frame enumerated above are for the left side of the chair only and thatcorrespending parts are to be found on the right side as will appear in Fig. 3. The back I is pivotally supported on'frame leg 3 by a hollow. arbor 9, better seen in Figures 2 and 4. This arbor 9 acts as a fulcrum for the back i to pivotally support. the latter at a point intermediate its upper and lower ends. As so far described, the back will swing freely about the arbor 9 and in order to fix its angular position, the arm rest '5 is pivOtallyattached to back i by a suitable bracket at point I 0. Point l D is located above the fulcrum point 9. The forward and underside portion of the arm rest 6 has rigidly attached to it a, slotted metal bracket H with a plurality of matches, as shown, for engaging a pin l3 in the upp er'end of a pair of plates t2. The latter are securely and rigidly attached to the upper end of the front leg 4. It will be recognized that the combination of the frame, the back and the arm rest linked together in thismanner constitutes a stable mechanica structure.

It is to be understood that'the angular position of the back I is. changed by raising the arm rest 6 until the notch in bracket 1 disengages the pin [3, thereby permitting the bracket I i to slide along pin 13 in its slot. This, of course, permits moving the back about the fulcrum arbor 9 and when the desired angular position is reached, the arm rest is again lowered until the nearest notch engages 'pin' l3, whereupon the back I is fixed in the selected position. For the sake of clarity, only three notches are shown in bracket ii but it is obvious that this number may be considerably increased to provide as many positions as are desired or the notch arrangement may be replaced by any other suitable clamp or latching mechanism as for example, a friction slide and clamp or thumb screw as frequently used for adjust;

ably latching windows in various open positions. It has been found from the construction of embodiments of this invention that four notches of the type shown in Fig. 1 provides ample adjustment.

The seat 2 is pivotally supported at its rear edge by a hinge I4 attached to the lower end of back I. The underside of the seat 2 rests upon a cross bar l5 which in turn rests upon a metal plate l6 secured to the front leg 4. The cross bar I5, which is also of metal, is prevented from sliding down metal plate [6 by a stop pin l1, shown in Fig. 2. Another metal plate 19 is attached to side spacers l8 and IS on seat 2. The purpose of these metal plates is to reduce wear and to lower the friction when the seat is raised by sliding bar [5 up plate [6 in a manner to be described in greater detail later. The side spacer I8 is integral with the left side of the seat 2 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. A corresponding side spacer l8 is similarly provided on the right side as indicated in Fig. 3. These spacers provide a space under the seat 2 for folding the leg rest 1 and strut 8 when they are not in use. This feature will be described further in connection with the description of Fig. 2.

The leg rest I is attached to the front edge of the seat 2 by two offset hinges 22. These hinges are attached to the sides of the seat and leg'rest and have their centers of rotation offset from the lower surfaces of the seat and leg rest so that when the leg rest I is folded under the seat 2 suflicient space remains between them for the strut 8. The strut 8 is attached to the front edge of leg rest I by a hinge 2| as shown in Fig. 1. To fold the leg rest and strut under the seat, it is only necessary to fold the strut 8 against the under side of the leg rest I and then fold them both as a unit under the seat as shown in Fig. 2. The seat must be raised to do this so that the leg rest will clear the cross bar l5. When the leg rest and strut are in their folded position, they are held by a spring catch 23, also shown in Fig. 2.

If desired, the strut may be simply folded back so as to lie on the ground or floor, thereby providing a different position for the leg rest whereby its forward edge is resting on the ground.

Returning again to Fig. 1, the angular position of the back and seat are easily adjusted by an occupant without leaving the chair by simply raising the arm rest 6 and shifting the body, that is by straightening the body or bending it in a natural manner at the hips. The action and effort on the part of the user is a perfectly natural one, requiring very little effort as the body weight is very nicely distributed so that it is well balanced about the fulcrum point 9. Any position may be assumed from a comfortable sitting position as shown in Fig. l to a level position as shown schematically in Fig. 5, where arm rest 6 is shown in its last notch. V

The angular position of the seat may be adjusted independent of the adjustment of the back by sliding cross bar [5 up plate Hi. This will raise the seat to its dotted position 2A as shown in Fig. 1. Y One convenient means of accomplishing this is to employ a lever 23 fulcrumed at point 9. Attached to the lower end of this lever is a tie rod 24 which is bent 90 and passed through a hole in the lower end of lever 23 and secured by a washer and cotter pin assembly 28, shown in Fig. 4. The forward end of this rod is threaded for several inches andfirmly secured to cross bar [5 by passing it through a hole in the cross bar and locking it in place with a nut on either side of the cross bar. The thread is of suflicient length to provide some adjustment for inaccuracies of construction.

A second lever, identical with lever 23, may be provided for the right side of the chair or the right side may omit the handle and provide only the lower part of the lever. In either case, these two levers are. arranged to operate as an integral unit by reason of a cross shaft 25, shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows only the left side of the chair viewed from the rear but the right side is identical except that the upper end of lever 23 may be omitted at the option of the designer. In this figure it will be noted that arbor 9 is hollow and of suflicient length to come only to the outer surface of rear leg 3. A metal plate 21 has a hole equal to the inside diameter of arbor 9 and is secured by suitable screws or bolts to leg 3. Shaft 25 is then passed through arbor 9 and spacer 29 is placed on the outer end of the shaft. The lever 23 is then force fit to shaft 25 and welded at 26. It will, therefore, be clear that the occupant may remain in the chair and by pushing forward and downward until the lever 23 is in its dotted position (Fig. 1) the tie rods 24 will draw cross bar I5 up plate IE to its dotted position. Seat 2 will then be raised to its dotted position 2A. To insure that the seat will remain in its upward position, lever 23 is caused to rest on a stop pin 30 integral with plate 21. I In this position it will be noted that the tie rod 24 has its center line above the fulcrum point 9 so that the tension therein tends to hold lever 23 securely against the aforesaid stop pin 30, thereby effectively locking the seat in its upward position until lowered by returning the lever 23 to its original position.

As a matter of construction detail, it may be mentioned that the assembly of arbor 9, shaft 25, plates 21, spacer 29 and lever 23 may be completed separate from the chair and inserted in notches on the upper surfaces of leg 3 and leg 3 whereupon they may be secured in place by bolting or screwing plates 21 to the legs.

The construction of the chair may be somewhat simplified by eliminating lever 23 and its associated mechanism and permanently attaching cross bar [5 to the frame. This, of course, eliminates the independent adjustment of the seat. Another simplified construction comprises two or more pairs of stop pins identical with stop pins 11 and I1 placed at different heights along the upper surfaces of front legs 4 and 4. Bar l5 may then be placed at different levels by selecting different, pairs of stop pins. In this manner the angle of the seat may be made inpendently adjustable but the occupant must leave the chair to make the adjustment. Thus a variety of obvious equivalent devices and mechanisms may be employed to provide this adjustment, all of which are within the scope of this invention. I

'Ihe view shown in Fig. 2 discloses most of the left side of the chair cut away to reveal more of the construction details of the seat and back. Legs 3 and 4 are cut away as shown to reveal right rear leg 3 and right front leg 4'. Plates I2 are securely attached to the upper end of leg 4' and pin [3' is adapted to engage notches in bracket H under arm rest 6'. It will be noted that the slot corresponding with the slot of bracket H in Fig. 1 has been omitted. It may be used if desired but is preferably omitted to permit raising the right arm 6' to give easier access to the chair. H may be omitted so that bracket ll merely slides along pin I3 when the back is adjusted. Fig. 2 also shows how arbor 9 is secured by two or more U brackets 3| to the back i.

Fig. 3 requires little additional description. It is provided to give a clearer idea of the construction details of the chair shown in Fig. l. The leg rest I and strut 8 are here shown folded under the seat as is more clearly shown in Fig. 2. Cushions 32 may take any desired form and the ones shown are illustrative only of cushions which may be used. If the invention is applied to a chair to be used indoors, the cushions may contain springs in a manner well known to the art. Also, in this figure, the cross brace 34 and the cross brace rod 33 are clearly disclosed. These are also shown in Fig. 1. Additional bracing is preferably employed but has been deleted for the sake of clarity and for the further reasons that such bracing is well known in the art and is unnecessary for a thorough understanding of this invention.

The particular embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is customarily folded up and stored away in the winter months. This is accomplished by removing pin 13 and loosening nuts on the outer ends of brace rod 33. With the leg rest and strut folded as shown in Fig. 2, the braces 5 are released from rod 33 so the legs may straighten out. Cross bar 35 is lifted over stop pin I! so lever 23 rotates back enough to let the seat assembly clear bar I5 and swing back against cross brace 35. Back 6 is then in substantial alignment with front legs 4 and 4' to complete a relatively flat package. As this feature is only incidental it is not disclosed in the drawings.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable reclining chair easily adjusted by an occupant while occupying the chair comprising in combination, a back, a seat, an arm rest and a supporting frame, said back being pivotally supported directly by said frame on a fulcrum intermediate the upper and lower ends of said back, a hinged joint attaching the rear edge of the seat to the lower edge of the back, the under side of the seat, intermediate its front and rear edges, resting upon said frame, the

rear end of said arm rest being pivotally attached to the back at a point above said fulcrum, and an Also, the notches in bracket.

adjustable locking mechanism for adjustably so constructed and arranged as to permit the back and seat to assume a plurality of positions including one defining a horizontal plane.

2. An adjustable reclining chair easily adjusted by an occupant while occupying the chair comprising in combination a back, a seat, an arm rest and a supporting frame, said back being pivotally supported directly by said frame on a fulcrum intermediate the upper and lower ends of said back, a hinged joint attaching the rear edge of the seat to the lower edge of the back, a cross bar on said frame directly under the seat and intermediate its front andrear edges for supporting the seat on the frame, and an adjustable locking mechanism for adjustably looking said arm rest to the frame at any one of a plurality of fixed positions along the length of said arm rest, said back, seat and frame being so constructed and arranged as to permit the back and seat to assume a plurality of positions including one defining a horizontal plane.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said cross bar is slidably adjustable along said frame in its height above the floor by means comprising a lever-having at least two stable limiting positions, wherebythe seat may be angularly adjusted independent of the back and arm rest.

{1. An adjustable reclining chair easily adjusted by an occupant while occupying the chair comprising incombination a back, a seat and a supporting frame, said back being pivotally supported directly by said frame on a fulcrum intermediate the upper and lower ends of said back, a hinged joint attaching the rear edge of the seat to the lower edge of the back, the under side of the seat, intermediate its front and rear edges, resting upon said frame, an adjustable locking mechanism comprising a rigid bar pivotally attached to the back at a point displaced from said fulcrum, and means for locking said bar to the frame at any one of a plurality of positions along the length of said bar, said back, seat and frame being so constructed and arranged as to permit the back and seat to assume a plurality of positions including one defining a substantially horizontal plane.

GORDON H. GAMBRILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 666,681 La Vonier Jan. 29, 1901' FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 785,395 France Aug. 8, 1935 11,310 Great Britain 1915 284,868 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1938 197,538 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1938 

